He said his army was limited in its resources for taking on the militants. “Ten days back, of 20 Cobra helicopters, we have only one that was serviceable,” he said. “We need more support.”
His army even needed help from the United States on efforts to shut down the FM radio signal of a leading pro-Taliban religious leader, Maulana Fazlullah, whose militant followers have been rapidly gaining territory in the area of Swat in the North-West Frontier Province.
“You give us the technical means to do it,” he said. “We’ve tried everything.”
“We’ve adopted all technical means,” he added, but so far his forces have failed to squelch the imam’s transmissions, which are believed to be fairly amateurish.
Militant activity in the rugged northwest has increased markedly this year, raising questions among Pakistanis about how American money for the army was being used. General Musharraf said the army had now regrouped in northern and southern Waziristan, where it faced the strongest challenge from the militants, whom he called a “vicious enemy.”
“Now wherever the disturbance, we will strike very, very strongly,” he said.